It’s all uphill on Fargo Street

March 13, 2011

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Dave Hobbs of Mission Viejo attempted the Fargo Street climb twice March 6, but the steep angle of the hill forced his front wheel off the ground and the bike fell. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The view from the bottom of Fargo Street. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The view from the top of Fargo Street shows the 33 percent grade. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Terry Peterson relaxes a bit after climbing Fargo Street twice on his unicycle on March 6. He is the only person ever to climb the street on a unicycle during the ride. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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William Aligue of Duarte successfully tacks up Fargo Street on one of his 62 ascents during the ride on March 6. Aligue had the most ascents on the day. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Terry Peterson zig-zags his way to the top of Fargo Street on his unicycle, Behind Peterson is Anaheim's Roehl Rosales, who completed 50 ascents to the top. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Cyclists zig-zag their way up Fargo Street, including Terry Peterson on his unicycle, during the annual Fargo Street Climb in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Each entrant who successfully completed the Fargo Street climb earned a patch celebrating the accomplishment. Terry Peterson, who climbed it on a unicycle, shows off his patch but joked, "We need a new patch ... with one wheel." SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Dave Hobbs of Mission Viejo attempted the Fargo Street climb twice March 6, but the steep angle of the hill forced his front wheel off the ground and the bike fell.SCOTT ALBERT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The reportedly steepest hill in Orange County that cyclists like to climb is Third Street in Laguna Beach near Forest Avenue and Mermaid Steet.

It has been measured at a 27 percent grade.

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It's only one city block long, just .2 of a mile, making it undoubtedly the shortest organized bicycle ride.

It also might be the toughest.

Fargo Street in Echo Park is the steepest hill in Los Angeles, measured at a 33-percent grade by city engineers. Since 1974, the Los Angeles Wheelmen has sponsored the annual springtime ride on the ascent.

This year on March 6, 118 riders attempted 'The Climb' and 70 succeeded at least once, including one on a unicycle. The event attracted as many spectators as riders. As 48 riders can attest this year, not succeeding means you probably fall and roll backwards a bit down the paved road, usually resulting in cuts and bruises.

"It's the toughest thing I've ever tried on a bike," said Mission Viejo's David Hobbs, 76, who was the oldest rider this year but failed on two attempts. "It's a little on the spooky side. You're on such an angle, you always feel like you're going to fall over. The front wheel wants to come off the ground."

And then there are others such as Duarte's William Aligue and Anaheim's Roehl Rosales, who go up multiple times. Aligue was the top climber this year, completing 62 trips to the top. Impressive, yes, but consider the record is 101 ascents by Steve Gilmore in 2008.

The top Orange County rider this year was first-time Fargo rider Rosales, 39, of Anaheim, who completed 50 climbs. Rosales works the night shift at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, and drove directly to Fargo from work after picking up his mountain bike.

"I didn't sleep at all," Rosales said. "I didn't know what to expect. I thought maybe I'd go for 10 or 15, but I felt pretty good, so I thought maybe I could do 25. The next thing I know I'm doing 50."

Rosales went straight up on his first attempt, but his heart rate red-lined. On the second attempt, he tacked up to reduce impact of the grade and his heart rate, but lost his balance and crashed. On his third attempt, he learned to zig-zag successfully ... and did so the next 48 times.

Six cyclists went up at least 50 times this year. Cyclists arrived on all types of bikes but the most popular were mountain bikes because of the low gears in the back and triple crank in the front. A typical road bike generally isn't equipped with gears low enough to complete the hill, but a few fit racers sprinted straight up the hill.

"I have a 39-25 (typical road gears), but I'm also 130 pounds and I'm 19 years old, so I have that advantage," said Fabian Vasquez of Echo Park, who competes for the Orange County racing team, Sho-Air. "I did it five times last year, so this year all I wanted was one more than that."

He succeeded.

Heidi Volpe of Topanga Canyon, an Orange County Sho-Air elite mountain bike racer, set the women's record this year with 26 ascents, 10 more than the previous record. Volpe was one of just two women to reach the top this year.

The Fargo Street Climb gained notoriety in 2003 when television host Huell Howser filmed one of his 30-minute shows on the ride. It is shown every spring a week before the ride on local television.

Dave Wyman, 63, of Los Angeles, and his brother Dan, 59, are the unofficial historians of the ride. Dave held the record for 14 years with 26 ascents until Howser showcased the event.

"After he (Howser) filmed it, people wanted to come out and break the record all of a sudden," Wyman said. "My brother came out as an observer in 1977 and said, 'We've got to come out here next year' ... and we've been hooked ever since."

The Wymans have seen it all on Fargo since 1977 — tandems, roller skates, recumbents and even a stand-up elliptical this year. They had never before seen a unicyle.

Terry Peterson of Lomita, 55, a member of the Unicycle Club of Orange County, displayed amazing balance and leg strength to complete two trips up Fargo this year.

"The hardest part of the ride is all of the ride," Peterson said. "It's 33 percent and it doesn't get any easier. It's unrelenting all the way up. You're hoping for some relief, but it doesn't happen."

Peterson used a 24-inch wheel built by his local bike shop for the ride. He tacked all the way up in a sea of bike traffic, sometimes standing still and hopping a bit on the turns.

"Stopping and hopping doesn't make it easier, it makes it more difficult," Peterson said. "When I hopped, I fell back a foot or two because of the gravity."

To see a video of Sunday's climb, go to youtube.com and search for Fargo Street Hill Climb.

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